Flushing device.



H. H. GOVE.

' FLUSHING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12. 1910. RENEWED- JULY 21. l9l5- Patented Feb. 20, 1917.

, HENRY H. GOVE, OF BIDDEFORD, MAINE.

FLUSHING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 20, 1917.

Application filed March 12, 1910, SeriaI No. 548,846. Renewed July 21, 1915. Serial No. 41,190.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known'that I, HENRY H. Govn, of Biddeford, in the county of York and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flushing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to flushing tanks, and more particularly to flushing tanks provided with a siphon discharge.

The object of the invention is to improve the construction and mode of operation of flushing tanks of this character as heretofore constructed.

It has been proposed heretofore to provide a flushing tank with a siphon discharge to eliminate the customary valve in the bottom of the tank. This is desirable for it is difiicult to keep the valve tight, owing to the collection of sediment in the bottom of the tank, and the consequent leakage of the water often results in a large waste'of water and expense, especially where meters are in use. The devices heretofore employed have included a piston of comparatively large area arranged to lift the water and force it through a comparatively small discharge pipe to start the siphon into action. With this construction the operation of raising the water sufficiently to start the siphon was comparatively slow, and considerable force was required to raise the piston.

Accordingly a feature of the present invention contemplates the provision of a siphon tube which is of substantially uniform cross-section throughout the short leg and over the bend, beyond the bend, gradually becoming contracted until the discharge pipe is reached. A paddle or vane is pivotally mounted near the bottom of the short leg of the siphon, and provided with means whereby it may be manually tilted. With this construction it has been found that the water can be quickly and easily raised to start the siphon into action, and as the water flows down through the contracted portion it is caused to fill the discharge pipe and thus form a seal which insures the action of the siphon until the water in the tank recedes to such a level thatthe siphon stream is broken, whereupon the vane returns to its original position.

A further feature of the invention contemplates the provision of improved means for insuring an afterflow or limitedsupply of water to the apparatus which has been flushed, afterv the flushing action has been completed. Accordingly, one or more chambers or receptacles are provided. adjacent to the dlscharge pipe of the siphon with an inlet and an outlet opening, the inlet opening being larger than the outlet opening. By tlns construction, during the flushing operat1on, a portion of the water being discharged through the siphon enters the chamber or chambers through the inlet opening at a greater rate than it is discharged through the outlet, thus leaving a quantity of water in said chamber at the end of the flushing operation, which water then discharges, slowly through the outlet, and is conveyed to the apparatus which is'fiushed, but its volume and speed are so small that it has no flushing action.

A further feature of the invention contemplates the provision of a simple construc tion which enables the vane or paddle to be readily removed from or inserted in position in the siphon or used with its actuating arm on either side.

Still another feature consists in arranging the vane or paddle in its easing so that when the siphon is broken the column of water remaining in the short leg above the vane will act to force the vane back to its initial position, thus obviating the necessity of counter weights or springs and insuring a certain return of the vane. 7

Other features of the invention will be referred to in connection with the specific description of the illustrated embodiment of the invention. The several features of the invention will be clearly understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawing and the following detailed description of the construction shown therein.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe tank and siphon, with a portion of the tank broken away; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the siphon and tank, showing the siphon in action; Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a modified form of siphon; and Fig. 4: is a fragmentary detail view.

As shown in the accompanying drawing the device comprises a rectangular tank 1, of any usual or well known construction, upon the bottom 2, of which the siphon is mounted. The short leg of the siphon comprises a metal conduit 4 which is rectangular in cross-section, and provided with a flaring lower extremity 6. The end walls r and sufficiently lar of the conduit it are substantiallyparallel and their lower edges are provided with integral strips or tongues 8, which are bent into the form of semi-circles and which act as bearings for a rod 10, to which a paddle or vane 12 is attached. The housing of the flaring lower extremity 6 of the conduit l is formed with an inclined wall, the lower edge of which is bent to conform to the rod 10 and also to form a support or bearing for the .latter. The ends of the tongues 8 are spaced a short distance from the lower edges of the walls of the conduit to enable the paddle 12 to be inserted or removed therefrom, as will hereinafter be described. The rod 10 is bent to form a crankar1n l8, and is provided near its end with a hole through which a wire 22 passes, said wire being formed into a hook 24; at its'lower end. The wire may be connected to a lover (not shown) provided with means by which it may be manually operated to tilt the paddle or vane12 upwardly. The hole in the crank-arm 18 is made substantially vertical ge to enable the wire 22 to slide freely through the same and to return to its normal position when released after the vane has been raised manually,

without causing the vane to return. The len th of the inclined wall of the aortion 6 is slightly less than the length of the vane 12 sothat when the latter is swung into its upper position its outer end will project a short distance beyond the vertical, wall of the conduit 4. The inner side wall 26 of the housing is curved to fit the edge of the vane 12 as it is tilted. Pivotally mounted on each end wall of the housing of the lower extremity G is a hook 28 against which the vane 1.2 is adapted to rest w ien in its lowermost position. When in this position the vane is prevented from sliding endwise out of the conduit by a projection 30 formed onthe lower edge of each end wall just above the end of the tongue. The vane, in its initial position, projects slightly below the loweredge of the siphon, thus affording a space through which the water may enter the short leg. In order to remove the 'ane 12 from the siphon the'hook 28 is swung out of the path of the vane, which may then be tilted low enough to pass through the slot formed between the projection 30 and the end of the tongue 8. In this connection it should be noted that the vane may be inserted from either side of the conduit l by being inverted and the crank arm 18 may thus be located on either side'as desired. 7

The upper end of the siphon is in the form of an inverted U 'shaped conduit or return bend 32 of the same crosssection'as the short leg 4, which then merges into a funnel or hopper-shaped portion 3 L which is connected to a discharge pipe 36, these together forming the long leg of the siphon. It will be seen that the short leg and bend of the siphon are of greater capacity than the long leg and that there is no constricted passage through which the water must be forced in starting the siphon, as in those devices where the capacity of the siphon passage is reduced upon the short side of the bend. In the present device, on the contrar the constriction occurs below the bend on the long side, at which point the water is falling under the influence of gravity. On this account the operation of the vane may be easily effected for starting the siphon action and the friction of the water in the siphon at the time of starting is reduced to a minimum. The funnel portion. 351'. is made relatively short and of limited capacity so that it will be quickly filled and the siphon action consequently con1- menced. On this account the discharge pipe 36 joins the funnel portion at a point above the foot ofthe short leg. The pipe 36 is provided with collars 3S and a nut l0 by means of which it is secured to the bot tom 2 of the tank to support the siphon within the tank. It will be understood that the tank may be provided with a ball-cock or any other suitable means for controlling the supply of water thereto.

7 Theoperation of the device described above is as follows: 7 V

The water will stand in the short leg of the siphon at the same height as in the tank, there being no water in the long leg. When the wire 22 is raised the vane is tilted upwardly, lifting the water above the same so that it flows over the bend into the fun nel-shaped portion 34. Here the water converges into the pipe 36, thus filling the latter completely as shown inFig. 2, and making a seal to insure the continued action of the siphon. When the current through the siphon has once been started the vane 12 is held by the rush of water in a raised position as shown in Fig. 2 in which position a free passage for the water is afiorded. By this arrangement the necessity of a valve in the vane is obviated and the construction of.

the device thereby greatly simplified. N hen the waterin the tank recedes to such a level that the siphon stream is broken, the flow of water through the siphon ceases, and the column ofwater remaining in the short leg above the vane flows back impinging on the end of the vane which projects into the conduit a and operating to force the vane down to its normal position. It will benoted that the vane 12h; free to swing below the bot tom of the casing for a short distance before it encounters the stops 28. The vane, on its return movement willstrike the surface of the water remaining in the tank at the end of the flushing operation, thus being cushioned. It will, therefore, be more quiet in action than if it struck the stops 28 directly.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that my improved flushing device pre sents no opportunity for leakage since it requires no submerged valves except the vane 12 past which there is normally no tendency to leakage.

In Fig. 3 a modification is shown in which the siphon is of substantially the same construction as that described above, but in addition thereto means are provided for insuring an afterflow or limited supply of water to the apparatus which has been flushed, after the flushing action has ceased. Below the funnel-shaped portion are one or more chambers or receptacles 52, having a supply inlet 54, formed in the wall of the funnel, and a discharge opening 56, of smaller area than the supply inlet communicating with the discharge pipe 58. Thus during the flushing operation of the siphon a portion of the water passes through each supply inlet 54: into the corresponding chamber, and the inlet being of greater area than the discharge opening 56, enables Water to accumulate in each chamber 52. When the flushing has ceased, the water in the cham ber 52 continues to flow through the opening 58, but is of such a small volume that it does not cause any flushing action.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, I am aware that many modifications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to belimited to all the details of construction shown and described, but what I claim is l 1. A flushing tank having, in combination, a siphon having a straight portion and a flaring portion in its short leg, a vane pivoted at one side of said flaring portion with its free end arranged to swing in the lower part of the straight portion, and an arm whereby the vane may be turned about its pivot to start the actionof the siphon, the end of said vane extending obliquely into 2. In a flushing tank, the combination of I the tank proper, a siphon mounted Within the tank and having a funnel-shaped portion, a discharge pipe communicating with said funnel-shaped portion, means for rais ing water to start the siphon into action, and a plurality of receptacles mounted on opposite sides of said discharge pipe, each having an inlet opening communicating with said funnel-shaped portion and an outlet opening communicating with said discharge pipe, said inlet opening being of larger area than said outlet opening, substantially as described.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a tank, of a siphon within the tank having its long leg extending downwardly from the tank, a housing having an outlet opening into the short leg of the siphon, said housing constituting a portion of the short leg and having a curved wall and an inclined straight wall, said walls diverging downwardly from the outlet, the bottom of said housing constituting an inlet, a charging vane fulerumed within the housing at the lower end of the inclined wall, said curved wall being concentric with the axis of the vane, and means for swinging the vane within the housing to charge the siphon and open the inlet of the housing, said vane being movable past the upper end of the curved wall to aposition where its end portion will project into the descending column of the short leg to form a water receiving pocket at the side toward the straight wall of the housing to efi'ect a reseating of the vane at the end of the action of the siphon, and a water passage between its other side and the curved wall.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY H. GOVE.

W'itnesses FERDINAND O. BOUTHILLETTE, BENJ. F. OLEAvns.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each; by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

